


Return To Me

by J_E_McCormick, TiltingPlanet



Series: Nouveau [2]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Pointless fluff, Reincarnation, cute boyfriends, wheee just sort of fluff and love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 20:07:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_E_McCormick/pseuds/J_E_McCormick, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiltingPlanet/pseuds/TiltingPlanet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six months. Dear god, six months stuck in various parts of Canada for work. It was only on rare occasions that he was gone from France quite long. But of course fate would work out like that, have him sent off on assignment for so long after, well, after he and Grantaire had figured out what they were doing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Return To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Here have some cute E/R boyfriend fluff before we get to finding the others  
> This takes place maybe 9 months after Remember, Remember. So, they got 3 months together before Enjolras was sent away.

Six months. Dear god, six months stuck in various parts of Canada for work. It was only on rare occasions that he was gone from France quite long. But of course fate would work out like that, have him sent off on assignment for so long after, well, after he and Grantaire had figured out what they were doing. He'd just gotten in from the airport- and the jetlag would be dreadful- but Enjolras was really only concerned with going to see Grantaire. There was only so much phone calls and texts could do about distance. The taxi didn't take long to get across Paris to the residential area, and Enjolras rather quickly found himself at Grantaire's door, knocking.

Grantaire would be lying if he said he'd done anything productive that day. He'd been waiting nervously all day, looking from the clock, to the door, to the TV that he'd put on in an attempt at either distraction or simple background noise, standing up and pacing through to the kitchen for yet another cup of coffee - give up one addiction, it seems, and you must gain another, and so coffee had come to replace alcohol in recent months - and back again, look at the clock, to the door, to the portfolio he should really be checking over and finishing because his Art finals were coming up soon, back to chugging coffee and not noticing that one leg was practically having a seizure. The knock on the door - not one minute later than Enjolras had told him - sent a wave of mixed panic and relief through him, and he shot up, almost tripping over something in his haste to open it.

Enjolras' eyes widened slightly in surprise at Grantaire's anxious expression. Not that he really blamed Grantaire, he'd been anxious as well. As soon as the door was open and he was sure no one was around, Enjolras indulged in hugging Grantaire around the waist for a few long moments, before releasing him and stepping past into the apartment. "Are you alright?" So Grantaire's manic expression was a bit worrying, you could hardly blame Enjolras. Not to mention the apartment seemed even more disarrayed than it had before he'd left six months previous.

"I may or may not have drunk 6 cups of coffee in the past two hours." Grantaire replied. His foot tapped on the floor. "Like, really strong coffee." He reached out for Enjolras again once he'd closed the door, wrapping his arms securely around Enjolras' torso and burying his face in his chest, sighing and relaxing slightly as he did so. "I'm so glad to see you." he murmured.

Enjolras hugged Grantaire back, almost on reflex, and hummed in thought. "Not one of your best ideas." He murmured, brushing his nose over Grantaire's temple before resting his cheek against the top of Grantaire's head. "Six months was far too long." Enjolras agreed softly. If he never had to move again he'd be quite happy- he'd been, admittedly, lonely in Canada without Grantaire around.

"Better than getting pissed." Grantaire replied. He carefully extracted his face from the front of Enjolras' shirt and placed a kiss on his jaw, then let his head drop to Enjolras' shoulder and rest there. Six months was most definitely far too long, and part of Grantaire was actually surprised that he'd made it out alive, or at least refrained from ditching out on uni and flying to Canada halfway through. He expressed as much by momentarily tightening his grip, bumping his nose against Enjolras' neck, and kissing him again.

"A thousand times more preferable." Enjolras agreed. He allowed his hands to wander, indulging himself by rubbing a thumb over the patch of Grantaire's back exposed by his shirt. "They shouldn't need me moved for a while, though. Long stints like that usually mean longer in Paris." The comment was half meant as reassurance to Grantaire, but it was also half for himself. He hadn't exactly appreciated being away so long, either.

Grantaire sighed quietly, the last of the tension draining from him. He was constantly worried whenever Enjolras wasn't there - which was stupid, he knew, but that didn't stop it from happening - that Enjolras would become happy to live apart from him, that each time he went away it would be for longer and longer, until eventually he just never came back. Rationally, he knew it was stupid. But in the loneliness of his apartment and with no-one to remind him otherwise, it was easy to let doubts take hold. "I'm just glad you're back." he said.

Enjolras hummed tunelessly in answer. He'd never been lonely before, solitude hadn't bothered him and constant moving had only presented issues in finding his cat a caretaker for when he left the country. But now... Well. Now Enjolras actually had reason to look forward to returning to Paris, for wanting to come back. "I missed you." He admitted quietly into the silence, sliding the hand caught beneath the hem of Grantaire's shirt up to splay between his shoulder blades.

Grantaire looked up at him in something like surprise. He'd never actually heard Enjolras say that to him before. Granted, it had been implied in actions, in tight embraces after every stint away from Paris, but never voiced. Grantaire cupped Enjolras' face and kissed him soundly, pushing himself as close to him as he could get.

Enjolras was, admittedly, surprised by the kiss, not that he minded in the slightest. He'd missed this too. Missed everything that was Grantaire, really. They may have bickered more often than not and generally made a game of trying to drive one another insane, but he did genuinely care for Grantaire. Like Grantaire's company. And, well, kissing Grantaire. He pulled back after several moments, just slightly. "Move to the other room?"

Grantaire chuckled quietly. "Move to the other room." he agreed, pressing forward for another kiss before moving, not letting his hands leave Enjolras even as he did so.

Enjolras, quite obviously, was more than fine with this, trailing Grantaire. He slumped onto Grantaire's couch, paused a moment, and then tugged the other man down into his lap, wrapping his free arm tightly around his middle.

Grantaire's face was bright with a grin as he wrapped his arms around Enjolras' neck, pushing their foreheads together. "You know, I missed you too." he said softly, leaning forward to press their lips together again for a moment.

Enjolras was content to sit like that, really, but he had a question or two that just wouldn't quiet. "Tell me you actually got some things done while I was gone?" Grantaire would be done with university soon, and Enjolras certainly didn't want to be the cause of Grantaire quitting.

"No, you know, I just sat in my apartment feeding a killer caffeine addiction and pining." Grantaire said sarcastically. "Yes, I got some things done. My Art portfolio is almost done, one or two pieces I need to finish off, but that's all, and I have read as many books as I could stand to revise for French History."

"You mean what you do normally?" Enjolras asked with a quirked eyebrow, rolling his eyes. "That's good, you'll have to show me the pieces you've done while I've been gone." Enjolras always liked to see Grantaire's work. It was always good, always interesting. Grantaire was good when it came to art.

"Eh, they're nothing special, but if you'd like." Grantaire shrugged. The portfolio had a wide variety of things; paintings, sketches, photographs, collages, everything. He had another painting and another sketch to complete, and for at least one of them he wanted to use Enjolras as the model. There was already one photo in there - which he may or may not be aware of - which had been an assignment in picking out colour, and so Grantaire had managed to catch Enjolras impassioned, and filtered out all colour except the red of his jacket. Red was becoming a surprisingly common theme throughout his work.

"I always want to see your work." Even... back then, Enjolras had always enjoyed Grantaire's art. There was just something about it. That passion was sorely lacking in most of the rest of him. Enjolras always enjoyed seeing it, studying its focus and composition and just how he did it. Especially because Enjolras himself could hardly draw a stick figure.

"Well then, later." Grantaire said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. It made him happier than he'd maybe be willing to admit aloud that Enjolras liked his work, wanted to see it.

"I'll hold you to it." Enjolras shifted a bit, sinking back into the couch cushions and looking up at Grantaire with, well, content. Grantaire's smile widened and he leant down to press a kiss to Enjolras' lips again, settling further into his arms.

Enjolras opened his mouth to say something only to jolt in surprise when his phone rang. "Who could possibly be calling me." He groaned, leaning forward slightly to fish the phone from his pocket. "Alexandre speaking." He answered, irritation lacing his tone as he leaned his head against Grantaire. "What? I just got off a plane home an hour ago- ...yes, I understand that... I do, in fact, have a life beyond wo- No, I am not trying to be disrespectful. I am saying I've been away for six months and would like to be home with my boyfriend." Enjolras continued arguing with his boss, steadily growing more irritated by the man's insistence that he leave tomorrow on another long stint- four months.

Grantaire grimaced mildly as the phone rang, and again when Enjolras used his name - it was so strange to remember that, actually, he was called Alexandre now- and stayed silent as the argument built. His chest swelled as Enjolras continuously tried to turn down the job, feeling amazingly privileged that he was being placed above the other man's work. Nothing had ever come before work - revolution - Patria - before, least of all him. At the same time he was very aware of the fact that work had been the most important thing in Enjolras' life before, and some part of him whispered that it might be still. He gripped Enjolras' arm, in part trying to hold onto him and keep him there, in part hoping to convey that he'd understand if he really must go, wondering whether it was ridiculous for Enjolras to be expected to be away for months on end with only a day or so's respite, or if this had been a common occurrence before.

Enjolras hissed through his teeth in irritation at his boss.  He used to do that a lot, yes, go from long assignment to long assignment, but he'd made it quite clear he refused to do that now that he had a reason to stick around. "Look. I told you, I refuse to do long stints away this frequently anymore. Give me work here in Paris; find someone else to go to Prague." Enjolras said sharply, hanging the phone up and dropping it. The little device bounced harmlessly on the couch cushions.

Grantaire surged forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Enjolras. "You didn't have to do that." he said quietly. "You didn't have to turn him down, but you did."

He wasn't really sure he could express how he felt in words. For Enjolras, his cause, his work, had always been his life. There had been nothing more important before, and really, Grantaire had not expected that to change, second life or not.

Enjolras loosely returned the hug, leaning his forehead against Grantaire's and shaking it slightly. "It doesn't matter. It's not the most important thing I have to do." He stated matter-of-factly. Most of his work these days was teaching, lectures, and that wasn't what interested him. He'd liked learning things he hadn't known, studying documents and art pieces. But his work had devolved into giving lectures and... and it really wasn't his priority, even the parts he did like. Grantaire made him happier than old documents.

Grantaire was not entirely sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry, though both would be from happiness. He settled for smiling, his eyes closed as he just focused on all the places he could feel Enjolras' body heat seeping through their clothes, his fingers playing with the soft curls at the base of his head.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that." he chuckled softly.

"I never thought I'd be saying it." Enjolras agreed quietly, fingers spread out over Grantaire's back. The phone started going off again, and Enjolras only reached out long enough to hit  the 'ignore' button. "Persistence will get them nowhere."

This time Grantaire did laugh, leaning in to kiss Enjolras.

"Good thing you're stubborn." he teased.

"As if I've ever been anything but." Enjolras said with a fond eyeroll, returning the kiss.

"Nothing on this earth could move you if you decided you didn't want to be moved." Grantaire agreed.

Enjolras was content to let the silence stretch for a time before he noted how they were sitting. "Is that really comfortable?" certainly the couch was more comfortable than Enjolras' lap. Grantaire looked down at his legs, where he was semi-straddling Enjolras, one leg folded under himself where he'd just been pulled down, and shrugged.

"'S not bothering me. Why, do you want me to move?" he asked.

"Not particularly, no." He said after a moment's contemplation. He was comfortable, and if the odd position wasn’t bothering Grantaire... well. Why move then.

"Alright." Grantaire smiled. He settled back again for a while, until his stomach made a noise to remind him he hadn't really had much sustenance except a lot of coffee and toast. He coughed, rather embarrassed, and said "You want pizza? I don't have much food in the apartment."

Enjolras blinked. He'd, admittedly, been spacing out a bit. "Fine by me." He was more tired than anything else. Jetlag never sat well with him- he didn't sleep much to begin with, but coupled with time-zone change, he'd be dozy the next few days. He yawned.

Grantaire chuckled and kissed his forehead affectionately. "Food and then bed, I think." he said. He clambered out of Enjolras' lap to grab his phone and order the pizza, returning quickly to curl up against Enjolras' side, having suddenly realised the reason his awkward position hadn't bothered him was that his leg had gone completely dead.

"I think I'm going to sleep for a week."  Enjolras rested his head against the back of the couch, going limp like a ragdoll with a sigh. "Try as I might, jetlag always gets to me." He leaned slightly to the side into Grantaire, enjoying the added warmth, and Grantaire's general presence.

 "Just make sure you wake up to eat and that's fine with me." Grantaire chuckled. "To be honest I can't say I've slept that well either."

This was probably mostly due to the coffee, but he'd missed having Enjolras in the bed beside him.

 "You insisted on calling me. You knew the time difference." The worst had when in Enjolras had been in Vancouver- they'd had a full eight hour time difference. That had been some kind of personalized hell to navigate. Not to mention hell on earth when he did bother getting some sleep.

"I know, I'm sorry." Grantaire murmured apologetically. He'd been able to survive six months without Enjolras being physically there with him, but could barely go a week without speaking to him, hearing his voice. He'd tried to avoid calling him too early or too late but with a time difference like that, it was hard. It was always late or early for one of them.

"Its fine, I'm just saying you would have saved yourself a lot of exhaustion. You sleep more than I do." Enjolras' voice had taken on a dozy, slightly slurred quality. He was comfortable and relaxed and starting to doze.

"Not so much when you're not here." Grantaire admitted. He leaned up, kissing Enjolras awake. "Don't fall asleep till you've had something to eat."

Perfectly on cue, there was a knock on the door, signalling the arrival of the pizza. Grantaire deposited one last kiss on the top of Enjolras' head as he got up to collect it, go through to the kitchen and grab two plates, and set them all down on the nearly empty coffee table.

Enjolras was very tempted to make a 'yes, mother' comment. Just showed how much Grantaire was rubbing off on him. "Alright, alright. I'll eat. And then sleep." He sat up fully, rubbing a hand over his face and making a soft, tired noise as he stared blankly at the table a moment.

"And then plenty of sleep." Grantaire smiled, ruffling Enjolras' curls to shake him back into the waking world a little, and grabbed himself a slice of pizza. He dropped heavily onto the sofa next to Enjolras and quickly set to devouring the food.

Enjolras straightened himself up before going about eating his own share of the pizza. He hadn’t noticed how hungry he really was, and the pizza was good, and Grantaire was a comfortable presence next to him.

They ate in silence for a while, managing to finish up the whole pizza between them - they really had been hungry - and once they were finished Grantaire nudged Enjolras and stood up.

"Bed?" he asked, smiling, holding out a hand to Enjolras

"Please." Enjolras agreed, standing as well and taking Grantaire's hand in his. He was so tired at this point he couldn't even be bothered to shower. Heck, he'd be willing to sleep in his shoes.

 "You really are exhausted, huh?" Grantaire said sympathetically. He tugged Enjolras through to the bedroom and down onto the bed with him. He pulled off the blonde's shoes and placed them beside the bed, then pulled him to his chest, letting his head rest on his shoulder. “You’re probably going to regret falling asleep in your clothes when you wake up.”

“Don’t care.” Enjolras murmured, turning to push his face into Grantaire’s neck, throwing an arm loosely across his torso. Grantaire chuckled quietly and pressed a kiss to the top of Enjolras’ head.

“Sleep well, Enjolras.”

Enjolras made a vague effort to return the sentiment, most of his words lost to semi-consciousness and Grantaire’s skin, and was out within minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who wrote who  
> Yep that's right, me as Grantaire, Tilt as Enjolras


End file.
